An Interesting Night
by headoverhook
Summary: Robin wants to talk to Barney but he doesn't want to listen. She broke his heart and he'd stopped caring. Will he change his mind? Post "No pressure". COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

**My muse just didn't want to shut up. Hearing Barney say that he doesn't care broke my shipper heart. I needed to pick up the pieces and put it back together. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything!**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 1<strong>

_10 PM _

_. . .  
><em>

_I need to see you. I'm at the Marriott. Room 307. R_

Barney looked at his cell with utter bewilderment. What was she doing in a hotel? Even though he was curious, he didn't want to go. Not when he still needed time to stomach the news that she broke up with Kevin. He needed to readjust the mask behind which he had hidden his broken heart. He wasn't ready to see her. The beep of his phone yanked him out of his musing.

_Barney?_

He couldn't avoid her forever and he knew that she was quite stubborn. So it seemed better to get it over with, he convinced himself, typing a quick answer.

_Give me ten._

_. . .  
><em>

"Barney Stinson, at your service! How can I help you?" Barney said cheerfully when Robin opened the door.

"Come on in!" Robin replied softly.

Barney could see that she had been crying and seeing her eyes all puffy and red made his heart skip a beat. He didn't want to feel anything. Feeling meant that she would be able to hurt him again. He definitely didn't want to give her such power over him again.

When Robin saw Barney standing in front of her the tears threatened to fall again. She gulped hard and bit her tongue, mustering all her strength to hold herself together. The last thing she should do right now was throwing herself into his arms though she had to admit that she was more scared that he would reject to comfort her than breaking down in front of him. It would hurt too much when he would pull away from her and would hide behind humor. He clearly didn't want to show her the Barney Stinson she knew was behind all of his fooling around.

"So what's up? Do you wanna get drunk? Hey, do they have a VCR here? I can go fetch Marshall and Lily's sex tape. Should be fun to watch."

Robin knew that this behavior was typical Barney but she'd still hoped that they could have a serious talk. Ted's assumption about Barney being the reason why she couldn't be with him got her thinking. Maybe there was more truth in it than she was willing to admit. That's why she texted Barney. She wanted to find out if there wasn't a small grain of truth behind Ted's assumption.

"Barney?" Robin tried to get his attention but he just swirled around and walked into the direction of the bathroom.

"Do you have a jacuzzi? We can open a bottle of champagne and take a bath."

"Barney!" Robin almost shouted and Barney turned around to her with raised eye brows, smiling broadly.

"Do you wanna skinny-dip?"

"Barney!" Robin could swear that she saw a brief flash of anger crossing his eyes before he saluted in front of her.

"Yes, ma'am!"

"We need to talk."

"About what?" Barney asked nonchalantly. Of course he knew that she wanted to talk about the break-up but he would take every opportunity to delay the talk.

Robin took in a deep breath while she watched him strolling through the room. He refused to look at her, clearly not willing to accommodate her.

"Did you talk to Ted this week?" Robin asked quietly.

"Sure. We are friends, remember?" Barney replied without looking at her, showing more interest in the content of the mini-bar than in her.

"So you know." Robin assumed.

"Know what?" Robin sighed inwardly. She should have known that he wouldn't make it easy.

"He told you." Robin worded it as a statement not a question. Ted's comment about Barney indicated that Ted talked to him about her.

"You have to be a little bit more specific, Robin. You should know that Ted and I talk about a lot in one week."

"I ..."

"Hey, I bet they have porn here. Should we check it out?"

"Barney Stinson, stop!" Barney's head jerked around and for the first time since he arrived he looked her directly in the eyes for more than a few seconds. "Just stop it. I told you I needed to talk to you, and you came. So you will sit down and listen!"

"Whoooww, hold your horses! No need to go all crazy woman on me."

"Can you stop fooling around for one second, Barney? Please?"

With a heavy sigh Barney flopped down on a chair and crossed his hands behind his head, staring at her expectantly. His whole posture screamed that he didn't really care what she wanted to tell him and Robin almost backed out. But she'd already backed out once. Months ago. She intended to find out if it had been the biggest mistake of her life to walk away from him.

"I know that you know. There is no way that Ted didn't tell you about Kevin and me. You know that we broke up." Robin clarified, determined to get through to him.

"Like I already said to Ted. Bummer!" Barney replied without any emotion in his voice.

"Seriously? That's all you have to say?" Robin should have expected him to react that way. After all she was the one who had broken their promise that they would meet at the bar after they spoke to Nora and Kevin.

"What do you want me to say?" Barney asked her matter-of-factly.

"A little more than only 'bummer' would be nice!" Robin told him, hurt by his non-reaction to their break-up.

But before she could say anything else, Barney shot out of the chair, his face distorted with hardly suppressed rage and Robin involuntarily took a step back.

"Do you really expect me to comment on the fact that Kevin and you broke up? Are you out of your damn mind?" Stepping closer, he continued in a dangerously low voice. "I might not wear my heart on the sleeve but that doesn't mean that I have no feelings."

"I never thought that you have no feelings." Robin replied, completely taken aback by the anger in his voice.

"Then why do you act like I'm a soulless monster?" Barney asked harshly.

"I ..."

"You know what, Robin? It doesn't matter." Barney stopped her from speaking, his voice suddenly calm. She would have preferred the anger instead of this cool demeanor he was showing her now. "I'm over it. I don't care if you are single again. I won't go down that road again."

Robin was glad that he'd averted his gaze for a few seconds so that he couldn't see her flinch. His words felt like a slap in the face and she realized that telling Ted that it had nothing to do with Barney had been a lie. Because it was true. She couldn't be with him because of Barney.

"We used to be friends, Barney." Robin stated softly, balling her hands into fists so that he couldn't see that they were trembling. "What happened?"

"We happened. You were right, you know?"

"Right about what?"

"Friends should never hook up. It ruins everything." The anger was completely gone now. The only thing she could hear in his voice was defeat and she felt a sharp pain where her heart was as if someone had stabbed her with a knife when she realized that she was responsible for it.

"So we can't even be friends anymore?" Robin asked, her voice slightly trembling.

"The moment we've kissed for the very first time we stopped being friends, Robin. We only fooled ourselves." Barney could see the hurt in her eyes but they needed a clean cut. He had to stop falling for her over and over again. Better to make her mad at him. "There is just too much between us. Being friends doesn't work for us and you know it. Do I need to remind you of a certain cab ride?"

"No. But ..."

"Apparently I can't be around you without wanting you." Barney had to clear his throat when his voice almost collapsed over his last words. He didn't want to feel anything for her. Not even wanting. He wanted it to stop. "So it's better when we go separate ways for a while. You chose Kevin, Robin. It doesn't matter that you two broke up. It's too late. It doesn't change anything. I think it's better this way. We wouldn't have worked."

Robin gulped hard when she saw the sincerity in his eyes. Barney almost never showed anyone this side of him.

"I'm gonna go. Take care of yourself, Robin. Will you?"

Robin couldn't even nod but Barney didn't wait for any reaction. He just turned around and walked out of the room, closing the door silently behind him.

Robin stood dumbfounded in the middle of the room, staring at the closed door. Somehow she managed to screw up two friendships in one night. She'd hurt two of the people she loved most in her life. One because she couldn't love him like he wanted her to and the other because she denied herself to love him. But Barney didn't know that she didn't choose Kevin because she loved him more. She chose Kevin because the intensity of her love for Barney scared the crap out of her. But maybe it was time to face the truth. Maybe it was time to tell him.

* * *

><p><strong>It looks like this is going to be a three-shot. But my muse is unpredictable. I never know where she will take me next. <strong>

**My shipper heart is still bleeding especially since I'm a masochist and like to torture myself with watching the Barney/Ted scene over and over again. I hate it that Barney didn't want to love her anymore. I know that he is still in love with her and that he is hurt. I get that. But I don't like it. I'm still afraid that we have to suffer a lot more and that Robin isn't going to be the bride. Well, apparently I always ship couples that break my heart over and over again. **

**Please leave a review on your way out.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for the reviews and alerts. I'm glad that you are enjoying the story! **

**And only for the record. I really don't like that Barney is dating Quinn! Robin, go and get your man already! Damn it!**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 2<strong>

_11.30 PM_

_. . ._

Barney felt exhausted. Emotionally exhausted. He threw his jacket over the couch and loosened his tie before he poured himself a big glass of scotch and collapsed onto the couch.

Rubbing his hand over his face, he recalled the conversation he'd just had with Robin. Talking to her made him realize that he wasn't even remotely over her. Maybe Ted and Robin believed what he'd told them but he couldn't fool himself. Of course he cared that she was single again. The moment Ted had mentioned that they'd broken up his heart had stopped for a second, followed immediately by the thought that nothing had changed. She didn't choose him back then why should it matter to him that she was single again. She would never choose him.

He didn't expect that she would want to talk about it. He didn't expect to see her that vulnerable. He did still care. Telling her that they shouldn't see each other for some time hurt him almost as much as it hurt her. But he still had a hard time to understand why she wanted to tell him in person that Kevin and she broke up. Why she wanted to twist the knife. Did she even realize that it hurt him when she was talking about Kevin? Was she aware that her rejection broke his heart?

Of course she knew. When she'd shaken her head to tell him that she hadn't broken up with Kevin to be with him he'd seen it in her eyes. She knew. She knew that it would break his heart. He wanted to be angry with her. He wanted to ask her why she chose Kevin but he didn't want to reopen old wounds. The scar was still too fresh. The only time he'd opened his heart for a woman, the woman had stomped all over it and he'd sworn to himself that it would never happen again.

But the problem was that he was still in love with Robin. Even after she broke his heart, he still loved her. He, Barney Stinson, was in love with a woman. One woman. Only one. Of course he could continue to have meaningless sex with every woman who crossed his path. He did it before, he could do it again. But it was different.

Ever since he slept with Robin for the first time, the meaningless sex marathons with countless women had lost their appeal. He might be still the old Barney Stinson in public, picking up women with crazy pick-up lines. But every time he woke up with another strange woman in his bed whose name he couldn't recall, the truth hit him with full force. The truth that the only woman he wanted to wake up to was Robin.

She was the only woman he ever truly loved but somehow he'd hoped that he could fall out of love with her. But no matter how many women he banged he couldn't get her out of his mind. He still couldn't stop thinking about her. All the time.

Groaning out loud in frustration, he stood up to fetch the bottle of scotch. It was going to be a long night. He didn't expect to get any sleep considering that he was too agitated to even think about going to bed. So the bottle could keep him company. He would give himself this one night to wallow in self-pity and memories before he would face the new day, going back to being the Barney Stinson everyone knew.

. . .

_2 AM_

_. . ._

Barney had closed his eyes to give them some rest after he hadn't stopped thinking about Robin for three hours straight. A knock at his door jerked him out of his reveries and he opened his eyes to blink at the clock. Who would come to his apartment at two o'clock in the morning? Who expected him to be still awake at this hour? He could only think of one person who could stand on the other side of the door and he didn't like it. He had a hard time to keep his emotions in check without seeing her.

When he heard another knock he sighed quietly, standing up to walk towards the door. There had to be a reason why she was standing in front of his apartment three hours after he left her. He couldn't ignore her. Taking in a deep breath, he straightened himself and opened the door.

Of course it was Robin. Standing in front of his apartment with bloodshot eyes, her hair all tousled and an expression in her eyes that made his heart ache. His hands itched to pull her into his arms, to wipe away the crushed expression on her face but as much as he wanted to he couldn't do it. Playing it cool, he leaned against the door and folded his arms in front of his chest.

"What are you doing here at two o'clock in the morning, Robin? I have to go to work in five hours."

The first thing Robin noticed was that he was still wearing his clothes. So she wasn't the only one who didn't get any sleep. Somehow the thought that their talk had affected him comforted her. She had debated with herself for more than two hours if she should go to him or not. At the end she had no choice.

"I couldn't sleep. Besides, you don't look as if I'd woken you up."

"What do you want, Robin?" Barney asked, not willing to let her get to him.

Robin didn't answer his question when she slipped by him so that he had no other choice than to close the door behind her if he didn't want to throw her out of his apartment. She wasn't sure if it had been the right decision to come to him. After all he told her that they shouldn't see each other for a while. But she had to see him and she wouldn't leave until she'd told him what he needed to know.

Turning around, she looked at him and almost lost her nerves when she saw the hard expression on his face but she'd come to him to finally tell him and she wouldn't chicken out now.

"The moment you've stormed out of my room I've realized that I never gave you a reason for not breaking up with Kevin and that I owe you an apology." Robin said quietly.

"I told you that it doesn't matter anymore, Robin." Barney replied harshly, feeling the walls around his heart already cracking and he tried desperately to hold them together by changing the subject. "By the way, why are you sleeping in a hotel?"

"I moved out."

"Why?" Barney asked curiously.

"That's part of what I'm trying to tell you but you are constantly interrupting me."

"Fine! You apparently don't want to give it a rest. So if you feel better afterwards then by all means tell me." Barney gave finally in. He would get through this. She wouldn't break through his defense walls. He could make it.

His tone didn't encourage her in the slightest. It hurt that he apparently really didn't care though she refused to buy it. There was still something there. He wouldn't have gotten angry with her otherwise. She would tell him everything. He needed to know so that she could stop wondering if it would change anything.

"He was the easier way, you know? Kevin, I mean. I was ... I think I was scared. One kiss of you and my whole life crumbled down around me. Every time you kiss me every coherent thought vanishes out of my brain in a heartbeat. You and me. It's just overwhelming. I don't like the feeling of losing completely the control over my actions and with you everything is always out of control. Being with you is unpredictable. I never know what's around the next corner. Kevin was safe, Barney. He is nothing like you."

"And that's the reason you love him and not me. I know." Barney said, not able to keep his voice completely emotionless.

"I ..." Robin started to speak but Barney interrupted her, trying to get her out of his apartment as soon as possible.

"I get it. You didn't want to hurt my feelings. But I wasn't worth the risk."

"I never said ..." Robin tried to explain but Barney could almost hear the walls around his heart crashing down and he needed her to leave before she was able to see the cracks.

"Are you finished, Robin? I really should get some sleep." Avoiding any eye contact, Barney turned around and walked towards his bedroom. "You can let yourself out."

"Barney?" Robin's soft voice stopped him in his tracks and he squeezed his eyes shut for a second, trying to hold his emotions in check.

"What?" Barney snapped, turning around sharply and Robin flinched slightly but refused to let him get away with it.

"There is only one more thing you need to know." Robin said determined.

"Will you leave me alone after you've told me?" Robin nodded slightly. "Okay, then shoot. What thing?"

"Ted asked me if I love him." Robin stated quietly, watching him closely.

"I don't think I want to hear this." Barney replied dryly, trying desperately to not give away how greatly these words affected him. He was certain that she told Ted that she loved him.

"Let me finish, Barney!" Robin said slightly irritated and Barney only nodded to tell her that she should continue.

"He asked me if I love him, and I said no." Robin took in a deep breath and locked eyes with him. "I said no because ... how can I love him when I'm in love with someone else?"

Robin saw him stiffen and sadness overwhelmed her because she had hurt him so much that he didn't even consider the possibility that he was the one she was in love with. She could only blame her own cowardice, her inability to trust him. To trust them. It was time to tell him the truth.

"Ted asked me if it was because of you, if you are the reason why I can't be with him and I said no."

Barney clutched his hands into fists and Robin could see at the tightening of his mouth that he would explode any second. She needed to stop delaying the inevitable. He needed to know about her true feelings.

"But it's a lie, Barney. Ted is right. You are the reason why I can't be with him, or with anyone else." Robin gathered all her courage before she finally told him what she should have told him months ago. "I'm in love with you, Barney. I'm sorry that I hurt you. I'm so sorry." Tears sprang into her eyes and blurred her vision. "I've ruined everything. I'm sorry. I ... I love you, Barney Stinson. I tried not to but it didn't work. I love you and I want to be with you. I want the second chance."

Barney stood shell-shocked in front of her and after a minute of uncomfortable silence Robin couldn't take it anymore. She didn't want to burst out into tears in front of him. So she rushed to the door and ran away. Her epiphany had come too late. She had lost him.

Barney needed several minutes before he could even move a muscle. Her confession caught him totally off-guard. He'd been convinced that she didn't love him but he could see it in her eyes that she was telling the truth. She really loved him. But he had no idea what he should do now. He couldn't just forget what happened in the past. But it was Robin. She came to him to tell him that she wanted to be with him and he was just too much in love with her to turn her down.

* * *

><p><strong>So, the night is obviously not over yet. :-) Stay tuned and please review.<strong>


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks for the reviews. There is no new ep today so I decided to give you a new chapter. I'm kind of relieved that I can prepare myself for the next ep because I'm sure you know that I don't like the press release. **_*tears hair out*_

**It gets a little steamy at the end of the chapter but you all watch the show and let's face it HIMYM is pretty dirty and hey it's Barney and Robin after all. What do you expect? :-)**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 3<strong>

_3.45 AM_

. . .

Robin looked in the mirror at her puffy, swollen face. She'd stopped crying an hour ago but she couldn't find any sleep. She splashed some water into her face, trying to soothe her eyes.

She'd promised herself that she would never be one of those women who got all worked up over a guy. But here she was, looking at her pathetic reflection. She'd let a guy get to her. The problem was, it wasn't a pain that would go away in a few hours or days. The problem was that the guy she fell in love with was Barney. She couldn't just erase him from her life and forget about him. It didn't work the first time, it wouldn't work now.

She'd told him once that she wasn't exactly a confronter of her feelings, that she was scared about how much she would like him. She was scared. She was scared out of her mind. She should have listened to Lily when she'd told her that Barney and she had the kind of chemistry that just didn't go away. Lily had told her, Ted had told her. It needed two of her best friends telling her the truth before she finally decided to search her heart, to ask herself what she was really feeling about Barney. Not even jumping into bed with him a few months ago made her realize how deep her feelings for him really were. She'd chosen the safer guy and made the biggest mistake of her life. A choice she would regret for the rest of her life.

The tears welled up in her eyes again and she bit her tongue to stop them from falling. He couldn't even go to Ted. Not after she'd told him that she didn't love him. Not after she'd told him that it wasn't because of Barney. She was alone. Maybe she should drown her sorrows in alcohol. Her heart just hurt too much.

Deciding that she couldn't take it anymore, she walked back into the living room and straight to the mini-bar, taking out the all schnaps bottles. She knew that she would feel awful in the morning, that her hangover would kill her. But right now she didn't care.

But before she could decide with which booze she should start, she heard a knock at the door and her heart jumped when she thought for a split second that Barney would stand on the other side of the door. But she didn't want to get her hopes up. She had seen the hardly disguised hurt in his eyes. It couldn't be possible that he was the one knocking at her door.

But when she opened the door and saw him standing in front of her, her knees almost buckled under her as relief washed over her. He came to see her. Maybe not all was lost yet. Maybe there was still a chance that he could forgive her.

"Barney? What are you doing here?"

"So it's okay for you to show up at my door at two o'clock in the morning but not for me to come to you at four o'clock in the morning?" Barney asked and stepped inside without waiting for her invitation.

"Aehmm, ..." Robin couldn't come up with any reply because he was right. She had been the one who'd showed up at his apartment at two o'clock in the morning. She could hardly complain that he'd done the same. Shutting the door firmly behind him, she turned around and crossed her arms in front of her chest, in an attempt to shield herself from whatever would come next.

Barney took in everything with one look. Her still fully clothed state, the devastated expression in her eyes and the bottle of schnaps on the table. In that moment he knew that he'd made the right choice to go after her. As much as she'd hurt him, he'd already forgiven her. He loved her. It was that plain and simple.

Barney could see that Robin was on the brink of breaking down and he didn't want to make it any harder on her. But he needed to get some things off his chest.

"You said you love me." Barney stated quietly.

"Yes." Robin replied.

"So tell me this." Barney said slowly, pausing briefly to make sure that there was no accusation in his voice. He just wanted to hear it again from her. "How could you choose Kevin then?"

"I was so scared that we'll crash and burn again and I didn't want to go through a break-up with you again." Robin tried to explain, looking him directly in the eyes.

"Apparently you are sure that we'll crash and burn." Barney said with a sad tone in his voice. "So why did you tell me that you love me?"

"Because you deserve the truth." Robin told him plainly.

"We are a mess."

"Excuse me?"

"We are a mess, Robin. We shouldn't work." Barney replied, not expecting Robin to come at him because she'd clearly misunderstood what he really wanted to say.

"So you came here to rub it into my face that we don't have a chance." Robin huffed with a raised voice. "Maybe I deserve it. But can you please go, Barney. I ... I had enough for one night."

"Unbelievable!" Barney exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air. "Robin Scherbatsky, I don't know if I should slap you or kiss you."

"What?" Robin asked him completely stunned, the word 'kiss' still ringing in her ears.

"Do you really think so poorly of me? Do you really think I, Barney Stinson, would give up my beauty sleep only to tell you that we have no chance?" Barney asked her with raised eye brows.

"I ..." Robin was taken aback by the smirk on his face and the hint of humor that was evident in his eyes. "Why are you here, Barney?"

"I'm here to tell you that you can't drop the L-bomb and leave without giving me a chance to say anything." Barney explained. "I'm Barney Stinson. No woman walks out on me like that."

"So you are here to tell me ..." Robin trailed off, at a loss for words. "What exactly is it you wanted to tell me again?"

"You broke my heart, Robin." Barney replied softly. He needed her to hear what he'd been through. "It hurt. I was standing in the bar like a complete idiot and you know I don't like to feel that way. I broke up with Nora for you. Because I wanted to be with you, and you came into the bar with Kevin as if nothing has ever happened between us. For god's sake I decorated your room."

"You did what?" Robin looked at him slack-jawed, her eyes wide open.

"Rose petals, candles. Can you believe it?" Barney shook his head slightly. "I wanted it to be perfect, I wanted to show you how much this second chance meant to me, and you slapped me in the face. I trusted you. I thought we agreed that our night together wasn't a mistake but a new beginning"

"I know. I ..." Robin stared at him for a few seconds, having no idea what she should say to make up for it. "Damn, I don't know what to say other than that I am sorry. I should have believed in us."

"Damn right, you should have believed in us." Barney stated firmly. "There has to be a good reason why we always end up together. Why we can't make any other relationships work. Why we can't stop thinking about each other. Why we are constantly messing with each others' heads and hearts."

"So ... you being here ... does it mean what I think it means?" Robin asked cautiously.

"Depends on what you think it means." Barney said quietly, stepping closer so that they were only a few inches apart, his breath brushing over her lips.

"Is this ..." Robin breathed.

"Yes?" Barney whispered, leaning back slightly so that he could look into her eyes.

"Is this ..." Robin broke off again, clearing her throat. "Are you ..."

But before Robin could finish the sentence Barney crushed his lips on hers and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her into his body. Robin sighed under his lips, wrapping her hands around his neck, drawing him even closer. She'd missed him. She'd missed the sparks. She'd missed the passion. She'd missed the fireworks his kisses elicited in her. She'd missed the heat that shot through her whole body the moment his tongue darted into her mouth. She'd missed the feeling of his body under her fingers. She'd missed the feeling of him inside of her. She'd missed them.

She knew it wasn't only physical. She'd tried to convince herself that all they'd ever had was amazing sex. But it was more than that. She couldn't describe it but there was definitely a special bond between them. It couldn't be denied. It was more than hot and sweaty sex. They were connected. Maybe because they were both so messed up, maybe even because they were soul mates.

But when they tumbled towards the bed, leaving a trail of clothes behind, Robin stopped thinking about anything. The moment they hit the bed the passion exploded in her and she kissed him hungrily, scratching her nails along his back, biting his lip until she tasted blood, letting him take her with such a ferocity that she almost blacked out when she fell over the edge.

Barney couldn't hold himself back any longer. Her tongue swept into his mouth, her nails left marks on his back and he gave in to her silent demand to give her everything, to let out all the hurt feelings by having almost violent sex with her. Sex that would leave them both battered and bruised. Leaving the frustration behind in the waves of passion that crashed down over them.

. . .

"I love you." Barney whispered when he rolled down from her, pulling her with him so that her head rested comfortably on his chest. "And yes, I'm willing to give us another chance. I'm in love with you, Robin. I need you in my life."

"I'm ..."

"No, don't say it again. I know, okay? Let's start over. Clean slate?"

"Clean slate." Robin nestled further into his embrace. When she inhaled deeply the tears suddenly welled up in her eyes as she realized how close she'd gotten to lose him forever.

"Hey." Barney spoke quietly when she felt her stiffen in his arms, pulling her chin up so that she had to look him in the eyes. "It's okay now. We're good, Robin. I'm not saying that our path won't be rocky because it's us." Barney smiled broadly at her and Robin chuckled through her tears when she saw his smirk. "We don't do easy. We need hard." Barney wiggled his eye brows suggestively and Robin broke out in laughter.

"And with hard you mean ..." Robin trailed off.

"Take it as you wish." Barney replied nonchalantly. "But you know you love it hard. The harder the better."

"Barney Stinson!" Robin straightened herself and smacked him playfully on the chest. "That's so you. The mind always in the gutter."

"And you love it!" Barney said smugly before he realized what he'd just said and looked at her a little sheepishly, not sure if she was ready to say it again. But Robin raised her hand and trailed a finger along his jaw line, a small smile tugging at the corner of her mouth.

"Yes, I love it." She said softly, leaning down to kiss him gently. "I love _you_. Just the way you are."

"I love you, too." Barney stated quietly, pulling her hand to his lips and kissing her palm. "So ... we can get up and actually go to work ... or ... " Barney smiled mischievously, referring to the first few months of their relationship where they weren't able to keep their hands from each other.

"I'll take the 'or'." Robin grinned broadly before she leaned down and kissed him, shrieking slightly when Barney rolled them around to lay on top. Grinning back, he savored the feeling of her body under his, happy that they were finally together again, happy that they'd decided to start over.

* * *

><p><strong>Like I already said my muse is unpredictable and she realized that Barney and Robin have one issue left to talk about so there is going to be one final chapter.<strong>

**Please review.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you to all of you who left a review or favorited this story. This is the final installment! Enjoy!**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 4<strong>

8 AM

. . .

Robin woke up alone in bed and felt a pang in her chest as she realized through her sleep-deprived state that the empty side of the bed could only mean one thing. He'd had a change of heart. Maybe he didn't believe that they would work out. He'd left.

Suddenly the door opened and Barney entered with two coffees and a Starbucks paper bag in his hands. When he shut the door with a swing of his hips and looked at her, a big smile spread over his face.

"Good morning, beautiful. How was your sleep?"

"I thought you were gone." Robin blurted out involuntarily.

"Gone?" Barney asked puzzled, before it dawned on him what she was talking about and he walked quickly towards the bed. "Of course not. I didn't have mind-blowingly fantastic sex with you for hours to just walk out on you the next morning."

"Mind-blowingly fantastic?" Robin asked, a small smile tugging at the corner of her mouth.

"What? You don't agree with me?"

"Yes, I agree with you. It was fantastic." When Robin saw the adorable pout on his face she chuckled. "Okay. It was mind-blowingly fantastic. Satisfied?"

"Not in the slightest."

When Barney put down the coffees and the bag and started to undress himself, Robin furrowed her brows in confusion.

"What are you doing?"

"Coming back to bed." Barney stated matter-of-factly and slipped under the covers only clad in his boxer briefs. "Do you have any objections?"

"Nope. None." Robin shook her head slightly, propping herself up against the headboard. "What's in the paper bag?"

"Double chocolate muffins." Barney grabbed a coffee and the paper bag and held the cup in her direction.

Robin took it and inhaled the coffee scent deeply, closing her eyes in pleasure. "Thank you for bringing me coffee, Barney."

"I know that you can't function without caffeine in the morning and I thought some chocolate couldn't hurt either."

"You are my hero." Robin fluttered her eyelashes teasingly at him and Barney broke off a piece of the muffin and stuffed it into her mouth.

"Shut up!"

They ate their muffins in silence and sipping at her coffee Robin turned on her side, watching him pensively.

"Barney?"

"Hmmm?" Barney mumbled around the muffin in his mouth.

"When you said earlier that we stopped being friends the moment we've kissed each other for the first time ..." Robin trailed off, suddenly uncertain if she really wanted to know if he'd meant what he'd said.

"Yeah?" Barney gulped down and looked at her expectantly.

"Did you really mean it?" Robin asked him hesitantly.

Barney averted his gaze to the paper bag and picked up the last remnants of the muffin. Licking his fingers he looked back at her, exhaling deeply.

"No. I was angry."

"So you still consider us friends?"

"Sort of."

"What do you mean?" Robin asked confused.

"Well, we are more than friends." Barney raised his hand and brushed with his thumb over her cheek before he added softly. "I'm really lucky that I fell in love with my best friend."

"I thought Ted is your best friend." Robin joked lightheartedly.

"You know what I mean."

"Yeah, I know." Robin replied earnestly. "I know that we are lucky."

"Come here." Barney held his arm up and Robin snuggled into his side, burying her head in his chest.

Barney let his hand trail up and down her spine and Robin almost fell asleep again, but the nagging thought that picked at her brain didn't want to give her any rest. She didn't want to ruin the moment, didn't want to risk it that he would leave her. But she needed to tell him about the kid issue. Kevin had left because she didn't want kids. If Barney had the same opinion it would be better to hear it from him now. If he would want to go, he should go now. Before he would break her heart beyond repair.

"Barney?"

"Yeah?"

"I've never asked you but ... do you want kids?" Robin mumbled into his chest, afraid to look up. Afraid to see the answer in his eyes.

Barney could sense that the question was important to her and of course he knew that she didn't want kids. But he thought she deserved to know the truth.

"Lately I've thought about it a lot. I kind of like the idea that some part of me would live on when I'm gone." Barney said quietly. "When you've told me that you think you're pregnant with my child I ... the thought didn't terrify me as much as I thought it would. I actually liked the idea of you being pregnant with my child. It would have meant that you would have considered coming back to me."

Barney's last words were barely audible and Robin jerked her head up when she heard the sadness in his voice.

"Oh Barney! You really believed that only a kid could bring us back together, didn't you?"

"At that time? Yes." Barney replied. "But after the doctor told us that you were not pregnant I was also a little bit relieved."

"Why?"

"I would have never known if you came back to me because you love me or because you thought that the child needed a father." Barney admitted.

"You know the answer to that." Robin told him softly.

"Yes, now. But back then I didn't believe that you love me."

"But I do. I do love you. You do believe me, don't you?"

"Yeah. I do believe you now." Barney looked at her thoughtfully. "Why do you ask anyway?"

"I ... I just have to clear something up before _this_ goes any further." Robin explained pointing her finger back and forth between them.

"Don't tell me that you want to back out!" Barney exclaimed, straightened up his body so that Robin almost fell from the bed by the sudden movement.

"No." Robin replied quickly, pressing a reassuring hand on his chest. "God, no. I just think you need to know why Kevin and I broke up."

"I don't want to talk about Kevin." Barney stated seriously.

"I won't talk about him. I will only talk about the reason." Robin argued.

"Okay then. Shoot."

"You remember the doctor's appointment where we found out that I'm not pregnant?" Robin asked carefully and Barney furrowed his brows in confusion. "Dumb question, of course you do. But she called me later that week to tell me something else."

"What was it?"

"I can't have children, Barney. Not that I want any to begin with. That was the problem. Kevin couldn't live with the fact that we would never have any kids. I don't want kids. Never have, never will. No adoption or surrogates or whatsoever. Never!" Robin stated firmly.

"I know." Barney replied softly.

"So you don't mind?" Robin asked him surprised.

"I'm sorry that you don't have a choice anymore. I mean to have your own children if you would change your mind."

"I won't change ..." Robin started to speak but Barney interrupted her by putting a finger on her lips.

"I know. But nonetheless you can't, even if you want to. I'm sure that finding out wasn't easy. Why didn't you tell me?"

"I chose Kevin, Barney. Then we had the baby scare. The relationship between you and me was a little strained to say the least." Robin tried to explain.

"True. But I wished I could have been there for you."

Robin had to fight tears when she heard the sincerity in his voice. He understood. He understood that even though she didn't want any kids that finding out had hurt.

"I wish I could have come to you. But it wasn't an option. I had to deal with it on my own. It was better that way."

Robin fumbled with the bed sheet, lost in her own thoughts. Barney lifted his hand and put a finger under her chin to tilt her head upwards. When she looked into his eyes, he said softly.

"To get back to your actual question. I thought about having kids but it doesn't mean that I need them in my life to be happy. I love you, Robin. Everything about you. If you don't wanna have kids that's okay with me. I want _you_ in my life. We can be the cool uncle and the cool aunt for Lily, Marshal and Ted's kids. They are gonna love hanging out with us."

"You really mean that? What about in five years? What if you change your mind?" Robin couldn't keep herself from asking. She wanted him to be sure that he wanted to be with her.

"You are in my life for a very long time now, Robin. I don't think there is the slightest chance that I will ever resent you because you refuse to have kids." Barney reassured her. "You need to have faith in me. Faith in us."

"I do have faith in us." Robin stated firmly.

"So we can settle for happily ever after?" Barney asked, his mouth twitching up in a lopsided grin.

"Happily ever after?" Robin looked at him suspiciously. "You are not proposing, are you?"

"Do you want it to be a proposal?" Barney replied only half-joking.

"No." Robin saw the brief flash of hurt flickering over his face and she immediately added. "If you're gonna propose I want a proposal that is Barney Stinson worthy. I want to be blown away."

"Barney Stinson worthy?" Barney chuckled slightly, his voice full of amusement.

"You know what I mean. I want you to put in some effort if you ever gonna ask me."

Barney pulled her head down to him and kissed her thoroughly, only satisfied when he felt her melting into his arms. Grabbing a fistful of her hair, he pulled her head back carefully. Looking deep into her eyes, a smug grin erupted on his face when he saw her hooded eyes and his heart skipped a beat. She was his. He could see it clearly in her eyes. She loved him and this time he wouldn't let her walk away again. Cradling her face between his hands, he locked eyes with her and stated mischievously.

"Challenge accepted."

**The end**

* * *

><p><strong>That's it. I do have an idea in my head about Barney's wedding but it's currently only one scene so I need to mull over it for a while. Maybe I need to see the season final first so that I'm not totally off with my scenario. <strong>

**I hope you enjoyed this little ficlet. It was definitely cathartic for me. :-) I would love to hear from you so please leave a review on your way out.**


End file.
